Us after this
by Maria - Madoka Ayukawa
Summary: Ginta thinks of Arimi, five years after their relationship started... GintaxArimi, slightly limish. Spoiler-ific. ONE-SHOT!


"Us after this".  
A Marmalade Boy fic by Maria. 

GintaxArimi, waffy, slightly limish. Spoilers for the whole series.

* * *

Ginta wouldn't forget the feelings she inspired him. With her mere presence, he would feel at ease, with his heart beating in a different rhythm than usual, even years after they met... 

At first it was just a convenience agreement, since he was jealous of Matsuura's arrival and his closeness to Miki, and she was still unable to let go of her own love for Matsuura himself. So yes, pretending to be together to make them jealous and win them back... not a bad idea, both he and Armimi thought, and for a while it did seem to work.

But, hey - things don't always work the way you think they will,

Sitting by the window of his bedroom, Ginta felt the wind on his skin and thought of those days, eyes closed. He allowed Arimi to lure him into the game, thinking that it would make him win Miki's affection. But in the end, all that he and Arimi tried to tear the apart, only managed to push Miki and Matsuura even closer.

However - that wasn't necessarily the worst thing. Because few after Ginta and Arimi decided to give up... his view of her started to change, little by little. There were little small things related to Arimi Suzuki that he had not noticed until those days of sentimental healing: how her short greenish hair wavered in the wind, the tender bittersweetness in her eyes, how she worked hard in the track team to keep herself busy and without any time to mourn for her lost love...

In those days, Ginta wanted to see her eyes shine again, the light in them glowing beautifully. His first tries weren't exactly successful, and he only managed to make himself look like a complete fool - almost like Tsutomu, whenever he tried to woo her. But despite all of this... she managed to see what was lying beneath the silliness. She wasn't indifferent to how badly he wanted to see her smiling, free for her former sorrow. And she made sure that hew knew it as well; after she gave him the rocket toy, he returned it... with a simple but meaningful message.

I love you.

And so it began. Yes, even Tsutomu accepted it, and after a sort of fight he gave him his cousin blessing. Days of bliss followed: the date at Christmas where they kissed, the topsy-turvy Valentine where she ran away as a punishment for bragging... and the first serious fight they had, when he was so distraught about Miki's break-up with Matsuura that he ended up neglecting Arimi seriously, and they almost broke up themselves.

He chucked as he remembered. In the end Miki, Tsutomu, and Tsutomu's girlfriend Yayoi were the ones who "saved" him, and they got back together. Since then, he and Arimi had their ups and downs like any other couple, they cried and laughed, spent days together and others separated, and also fought again... but always managed to overcome the difficulties, with a little help from everyone. And five years after all that happened, he and Arimi were still an item.

Wit a long sigh, Ginta opened his eyes. The cool wind blew again, and he shivered and rubbed his arms. He should've put a shirt or something on - but, being his stubborn self, he believed that sitting shirtless by the window was so, so cool, like that scene in Trigun that as his absolute favorite. Then again...

"Ginta?".

Ginta blinked. He didn't notice that Arimi was already awake, so immersed he was in his thoughts. But there she was, sitting on his bed - and wearing only one of his shirts.

"Arimi...", he mused, looking at his girlfriend. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, then smilied.

"How long have you been up?", she asked. "I woke up feeling cold out of a sudden...".

"Sorry", and he stood up and closed the window. "There, Arimi. do you feel better?".

She giggled and got up from the bed. "Yes... it feels warmer now...". She then walked towards Ginta and grabbed the man's arm, snuggling against him. "But there's something else... a way to keep both of us warm...".

He felt her breath on his neck, and her body pressing against his own. Yes, the whole room felt warmer... or was it something else...?

But after Arimi kissed him deeply, her arms now wrapped around his bare waist, Ginta thought that she was painting an absolutely perfect beginning for their day.


End file.
